King
by crazyEgyptianSphnx
Summary: The responsibilities of the Pirate King comes with its highs and lows. Edited
1. Responsibilities of the King

**I am BACK from college! Whoo! Longest four months of my life! And while I was there I noticed the many errors in my writing. Because of this I took the time out of my busy art schedule to edit this and the next four chapters. Also I'm fixing my botched and rushed ending. :) ****I hope you enjoy the new ending (when I get it up) and like my story all over again after four (VERY) long months. It's great to be back. :)**

**Thank you everyone who found and liked my story while I was gone. It made me feel special to find your notices in my email when I got back.**

**Now to re-read this myself so I can redo my end notes! (ugh...)**

* * *

**King**  
**Responsibilities of the King**

* * *

_**Strat·e·gy **[strat-i-jee]: a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result._

Even the definition gave Monkey D. Luffy a headache.

It wasn't as if Luffy was so dumb that he couldn't tie a shoe (he just chose not to wear them), but he didn't think he'd have to use so much brain power as the _Pirate King_. To him the simplest solution to any problem was a punch to the face of the bad guy. Good thing he had Robin, Nami, and Sanji when he couldn't. This seemed to be the case almost every time there was a disturbance in the Grand Line's waters.

He remembered the good times when all he had to do was attack the guy at the top and leave the pawns to his crew. Goodness, he missed those days.

Luffy knew one thing for sure, even before the One Piece was his: He'd be taking care of a lot of troubles. The islands he saved weren't even the half of it the first time around. Once one problem was taken care of, another would pop up three islands back. It was just one thing after another, and each one a responsibility of the world's strongest man and the Pirate King.

He'd admit though that it felt good to be helping so many people in need. And the banquets afterwards were sometimes worth the pain of wearing a suit.

Ugh. He hated suits.

But it seemed every woman he met _loved_ them, which he still was having trouble understanding. Why? He tried asking Robin at one point but when the archeologist went into something involving taste that wasn't for food or somethin' he lost interest.

Oh, well.

Luffy's current trouble shooting business involved a billionaire on a small island somewhere in the vicinity of Water Seven. From what Nami had explained to him from the letter that was sent them, Francis Honuri had been bribing the law enforcement (Marines, could you believe it?) and black mailing the charity foundation who just so happened to be there before he moved to the island. Now instead of the tax money going to the orphanages and other respectable establishments, Francis was sitting pretty with pockets of cash, while small children starved.

"Can I punch him?"

"No."

Dang it. When was he going to deal some _real_ damage?

_Sunny Go_ had sailed into port as silent as dove sleeping in an olive tree on the night before Francis's monthly gala. Other pompous big wigs were supposed to be attending and Luffy had had some bright insight that this was the perfect opportunity to knock some sense into anyone else disrespecting the public, but not literally, of course.

There was just one problem: It was by invitation only.

Luffy didn't think this was a big deal.

"Of course it's a big deal!" Sanji glared at him, waving long arms widely, "You can't get close to the target if you can't even get into the same building as him!"

Luffy had only sighed, surprised the cook by patting his shoulder, and said that he would take care of that.

That night the crew celebrated, thinking Luffy's smarter side of his brain was finally taking control.

They were wrong.

* * *

"Invitation?"

Luffy sat back and watched a fifty-ish couple hand a pristine white envelope to the man in the monkey suit. The captain thought he looked ridiculous with a high white collar and a suit jacket twenty sizes too small. His pants only reached to mid-calf with high white socks and pointy shoes. Luffy wasn't finding anything of this billionaire's impressive. Even his "mansion" was the size of the building they kept _Sunny Go_ in if they weren't sailing around, say nothing of Luffy's estate. All 200 acres of it.

"Well, Luffy?"

The Pirate King tipped back. He was dressed in his finest, a beautiful hand tailored silk suit; the only one he hadn't managed to bring himself to destroy. A gold stud sat nestled in the soft folds of a red cravat tucked into a shiny black vest. His pants bagged at his ankles around a pair of polished Water Seven dress shoes. His hat was sadly replaced with his finest fedora with a small red painted feather tucked into the band. He smiled at Zoro, Sanji, and Nami.

Zoro eyed his captain, "You look more like the boss of a mafia ring than the Pirate King."

Luffy hopped down from the low brick wall he'd been surveying from. He dusted his rear off as he replied, "Good, I don't want them to know just yet. And you seem to fit as my bodyguard rather well."

Zoro glanced down at the fine black suit and silver curly-cue-design tie. He adjusted the three sword tie tack, "Thanks Captain."

Sanji rolled his eyes, looking stunning in a dusty blue suit of his own, "Can we get going?" he asked, irritated.

Zoro looked ready to say something smart and that was when Nami jumped in and said, "Do you know how we're getting in, Luffy?"

The captain was already heading for the front door, "Oh, I thought I'd just wing it."

Sanji slapped himself, "I knew it; I _knew_ it!" He looked at the woman dressed in a slim black number beside him, "Didn't I tell you?"

Nami, looking just a little sick, nodded sagely, "Yes, many times, Sanji-kun."

Luffy waited at the first stone step for the small number of crew members he'd brought with him, before climbing up to stand before the monkey man. His trio stood behind him.

"Invitation?"

Now that he was closer, Luffy could see the man was also quite ugly, missing a chin with a long, frowning face and squinty eyes. Luffy unconsciously squinted back. The two stared for a beat before the footman repeated the question.

Luffy looked thoughtful for a moment as he patted his jacket pockets. Sanji and Zoro watched with raised eyebrows as their captain even patted the pockets of his pants.

"Hm." Luffy hummed huskily, "Seems I forgot it."

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to lea-"

"Excuse me?" Luffy snapped.

The footman, floored for a moment, blinked, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave. You have no invitation."

Luffy thrust his hands into his pants pockets and leaned in close to the man's face, "Do you know who it is that keeps your man afloat, so you can stand here and be ugly?"

The man, insulted, looked back defiantly, "Sir, I have to ask you again-"

"Me, that's who, if you want to keep this job then I suggest you move and let my people and me in."

Sanji glanced at Nami, looking thoroughly impressed, "Did you teach him that?" he whispered.

Nami shook her head, dangling earrings jingling, "No," she gasped.

Zoro watched his captain harass the man for a few seconds more before he shot his arm out and slapped the man hard across the face. The footman's head whipped to the side. Luffy leaned back, eyebrows raised in shock, before glancing at Zoro in horror. "I wanted to scare him, not hurt him!" His eyes read. The master swordsman waited until the man was coherent enough to overhear him, "I thought I saw a knife, sir. I give my apologies for being paranoid."

Luffy blinked, brain whirring behind black eyes that seemed to radiate relief, "You did? Well, as my bodyguard it's your job to be paranoid." He looked at the abused man holding his red cheek. He was going to have to repay him for that later. "I'd be very much dead if you weren't. I'm going in."

And he promptly walked in, head held high.

The party was in full swing. Chandeliers laden with long candles hung from tall vaulted ceilings, giving the hint that the gala was to take place for some time; plenty of time to fill up on appetizers and booze. Luffy wrinkled his nose at the mixing aromas of several different cigarettes brands being smoked and food that didn't smell good enough to grace any of Sanji's plates.

Sanji himself was taking a look around, sapphire-blue eyes sweeping across people who looked like dough squeezed into the wrong sized tubing. He picked up four glasses of champagne when a waiter walked by, balancing two in each delicate hand. He offered them with a cheeky grin.

Zoro grabbed his eagerly, but before he could gulp it down in one tip of the glass, Sanji had grabbed it back when his hand was relieved of its other glass by Luffy. The swordsman only half listened to the etiquette lessons the cook tried to convey to him heatedly.

"It's the only one you're having tonight."

Zoro glared, opening his mouth to say what he really thought of the cook when Luffy suddenly jumped, almost dropping the crystal glass in his hand.

"E-eh?"

The trio watched in horror as Luffy's face flared red and stumble into Zoro. The first-mate caught him, "O-oi!" Zoro croaked.

"Luffy?" Nami asked concerned. Sanji looked behind her, eyes searching.

"You okay?" Zoro questioned, "What happened?"

Luffy looked suddenly twenty years younger, eyes wide and face the brightest red any of them had witnessed. He suddenly gulped down his drink ("Oi! What did Sanji just tell Zoro?"), and stood up.

"Oh." Sanji breathed.

Luffy, embarrassed, turned from his crew and headed further into the crowd, glaring all the while at a woman drifting to and fro through the crowd. Zoro decided he didn't want to know. He followed; Luffy muttering darkly under his breath.

Another reason why Luffy hated wearing suits: The—err—_attention_ could be a bit much.

Sometime later found Nami standing with Sanji, watching the overly social crowd. She looked over them from above her wine glass, chocolate eyes suspicious. "Our host hasn't shown himself yet."

Sanji placed his empty glass on another tray carried by a passing waiter. He scratched the back of his head, "He'll show up. Even if he knew we were here, he can't ignore his guests."

Nami turned to him, "What do you think will happen when he does?"

Sanji began to walk in the direction the two idiots had gone, gesturing for her to follow, "Luffy will screw it up. Like always."

Speaking of the captain, Luffy was getting impatient. He didn't want to stay for the whole party. He may be twenty-six, but his attention span was still that of a ten year old. He listened to the small orchestra play as he and Zoro wandered around, but the music was slow, long, and boring. He couldn't stand this stiff atmosphere; this was exactly the reason why he wasn't invited to these kinds of parties. _Anymore_.

Finally, at almost half past eleven, their host presented himself in a flashy way. Wearing a long fur robe over a gray suit, with a large diamond tie tack, and feather-laden fedora; Francis Honuri descended from a spiraling staircase. Men in fancy suits and robes approached him, leering encouragingly at him. Luffy's quick eyes caught every slide of hand, each transaction consisting of a hefty wad of beli. Luffy's hunch had been correct. The whole gala was just a cover for shady deals and exchanges. Luffy glanced at Zoro, a grin lighting his round features.

"Be right back."

He was a lot better looking than Nami had expected. Not a whole lot but definitely better than her image of a fat man in a pimp coat and cane. He was thin with lean muscles very much like Luffy's, with a head full of rich blonde locks, highlighted by the lamplight. Nami glanced discreetly at Sanji standing by her side. She did a double take and was taken aback by the similarities between the two. She turned her head, and stared up at Sanji, bathed in the light of one of the chandeliers. Her movement caught his eye and he looked down, one curly eyebrow raised in question. She shrugged and looked back at Francis.

She decided that Sanji was better company.

Luffy's hard black eyes glared at Francis from under the brim of his fedora. He took even steps to the man's side, keeping the shadow of his hat over his scar. When he fell in step with the billionaire, the man didn't even glance at him before Luffy felt rough paper edges against the sensitive* skin of his hand. Luffy didn't take it.

His lips parted into a grin and he whispered into the shorter man's ear, "You forgot to send me an invitation."

The man balked, turning to glare hotly at the stranger. He gave a quick brush of a ring encrusted hand, "There's this new thing called personal space," he said testily, "Take it into consideration."

"Are you insulting me?" Luffy asked, grin widening.

Francis's breath stank of too much breath spray. The smell stabbed Luffy's nose as the man said harshly, "Any vagabond who thinks he can get in here without an invite and steal money from me is sadly mistaken," he turned to one of the men who had come down with him, "Escort this man off of my premises."

"Your 'premises' leaves much to be desired," Luffy chortled, sidestepping the bodyguard's beefy hand, "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

Francis was already walking away, "An idiot."

Luffy laughed, "I didn't get dressed up for nothing!" The captain twisted around behind the bodyguard to avoid another grab at his neck. Onlookers were drawn to the spectacle as Luffy seemed to dance around the larger man, using his leaner frame to his advantage. Some, thinking it was a show, began to clap.

Luffy silenced them all with a hard punch to the man's chin.

A woman screeched when the crunch of broken bone reverberated through the large hall. The man fell back, holding his face. Luffy grinned at the shocked crowd.

"I'm shutting this operation down!" he shouted, "Any money you didn't obtain through honest work, I want deposited at the door. My two men will take them off your hands."

Sanji glanced through the crowd before he found Zoro's eyes and the two proceeded to the front door. Luffy's show-off behavior wasn't quite out of the norm, but there had been a small discussion about violence. Something he obviously thought to ignore; looks like they were going to have another.

"I say this," Luffy continued, "because if you don't want all your bank accounts suddenly empty within the next week, you will do as I say."

Nami smirked.

Francis was indignant, "How dare you!" he shouted. The other man remained impassive, lips pulled into a visible line. "You have no right to take these respectable people's money. Nor do you have the right to be on my property, you pauper."

The line pulled up into another smirk, "In comparison, _sir, _this pauper is far above anything you will ever hope to achieve."

Francis scoffed, stomped up and shoved his face into Luffy's as best as their fedoras would allow, "Don't give me that friendship is more than gold crap," he spat, "I've heard that spiel before and it's not worth the life that spews it. Friendship can't get you anywhere."

"Oh?" the man tipped his hat back, knocking Francis's off, "Then why am I, King?"

The crowd gave a collective gasp. Francis, taking in the trademark dark eyes and scar, stumbled back. "W-what do you want?" the man gasped.

"I want you off this island!" he shouted, "It is now under the protective custody of the Pirate King. Be gone by the end of the week and I won't burn down your excuse for a mansion." Luffy grinned one last time and turned to leave. He waved for Nami, "Zoro, Sanji; we're going on ahead. Give the money they hand to you to the charity and then head back." The two men nodded to their captain as he exited.

Sanji turned to the frozen crowd, "You heard the King, cough it up!"

* * *

*** I kinda believe because Luffy's almost constantly getting his hands injured, as he got older they begin to get oversensitized because of all those times his muscles and skin had to heal. He's twenty-six in this so it's not too bad (when he's like 60 or somethin' I'd be afraid they'd fall off), he just has ultra sensitve touch there.**

**Also, if you didn't get it, Luffy was violated by a random woman in the crowd. I kinda wanted him to actually say that he was, but I think he'd rather not actually acknowledge contact like that. Also I couldn't seem to fit it in right. *sigh***

**Sorry if you believe they were all a little ooc. Considering they're all around nine years older, they'd all be a little more mature. Luffy on the other hand, just sort of copied stuff he'd believe Sanji might do to get in. He's been with them for a while; somethin' was bound to rub off.**

**I don't support drinking or smoking in the real world. These guys aren't real, so I'm less worried of Sanji dying from lung cancer.**

**Also another small tidbit! Since Water Seven is pratically a One Piece version of Italy, I had Luffy's shoes come from there. Just think of them as those expensive Italian shoes.**

**I was horrified when I read this after posting to see I'd typed 'back' instead of 'bank' account. I tried fixing it once and it didn't work but now it is fixed and I'm happy. :)**

**Thnxs  
Sphnx**


	2. Authority of the King

**Okay! Here we go!**

* * *

**King**  
**Authority of the King**

* * *

_Bur-lep bur-lep_

_Bur-lep bur-lep_

Luffy moaned into his pillow and turned away from the annoying sound invading his dreams. Light stabbed in his eyelids and Luffy groaned, buried his face as far as he could into the pile of pillows surrounding him. The noise he was creating settled.

_Bur-lep bur-lep_

_Bur-lep bur-lep_

"_AUGH!"_

The Pirate King sat up in bed and glared daggers at the den den mushi resting on his right nightstand. The snail remained impassive, bur-lepping away. Tired now, Luffy stretch for and picked up the receiver, "What?"

"Ohayou, Luffy-san!"

Luffy sighed, "Good morning, Kaya."

"I'm glad you're up, Luffy-san. There seems to be a bit of a-"

"Disturbance? (Who said I was up?)" Luffy said automatically, face pulled into a bored frown. It had been several weeks since the incident with Francis (now long gone, to only he knows) and life had resumed as normal; a.k.a. Luffy had to fix things somewhere else, "Can't they take care of it themselves?"

The mushi frowned, "No, Luffy-san. You know you have to take care of your islands."

"Is it even mine?"

"Well, yes, at least, I always thought it was yours."

Luffy was struggling to the side of his bed, kicking covers away as he went, "What island is it?"

"A prehistoric island. Sanji told me that you were there at one point. I assumed it was yours."

Luffy paused, one foot on the carpeted floor. On Kaya's end, her snail looked annoyed, "Kaya, who told you to call me?"

"Um…Sanji did. Why? Is there something wrong?"

Kaya's mushi snarled, "That island is not mine! I'm going back to bed!" and it promptly went back to sleep.

Kaya blinked. Leaning back she yelled into kitchen, "He went back to bed."

There was a crash of pots and several colorful words before Sanji shouted, "Lazy King!"

* * *

Luffy sighed softly, sending dust mites to float happily in the sunlight. He was just a little annoyed as he watched his navigator patter about his suite. There was no sense in coming into his private quarters so abruptly, throwing his curtains open and make a cacophony of noise as she tidied up.

"Nami!" he whined.

Nami picked up the green dress shirt Luffy had worn yesterday to yet another banquet. She looked at the black mop of hair sticking up wildly among mounds of down-filled pillows and comforters, "You should take care of your clothes better Luffy, you won't have anything to wear if you keep this up."

"Good!" the mound huffed, "Then I can wear a t-shirt for the first time in nine years." The mound suddenly sat up, and Luffy yanked a gold trimmed comforter off his face, "Nami, I would have rethought this Pirate King thing if I had known I'd have to dress up all the time!"

Nami pointed at her captain, "You're not dressed up now." She picked up another shirt, a light grey this time.

Luffy yanked on his white tank, enjoying the wind it caused, "Eh…but I can only wear this in bed!"

Nami shrugged, "So sorry."

Luffy heaved a heavier sigh; fell back into his pillows, "I demand I wear what I feel like!"

Nami scanned through Luffy's closet. Picking out something suitable for the day, she deposited the shirt and pants on the end of the bed. Luffy didn't care to notice. The navigator walked to the head of the man's bed and glared down at the pouting captain, "Get up."

When she exited, closing the door for him to get dressed privately, Luffy glanced at the time piece on his left nightstand. It read 8:37. Only four hours of sleep that night.

"Just a few minutes more then."

* * *

"Luffy-bro! It's about time you got up!"

Luffy whimpered, throwing a soft pillow over his head, "Leave me alone!" he cried, voice muffled. It had only been five minutes, for crying out loud!

Franky frowned down at the large lump. Zoro, standing beside him, crossed his arms and glanced up at the taller man.

Pause.

"Well, we tried!" Zoro yelled, shrugging and exiting quickly. The swordsman didn't care what the others thought; Luffy could sleep until doomsday arrived and even afterwards.

Goodness, he'd do it!

Franky edged closer toward the bed, "Luffy-bro, Nami said-"

Luffy lifted his head quickly, shouted at the ornate headboard Franky himself had carved, "I don't care what Nami said! I'm sleeping in today!"

Franky made a hasty retreat.

* * *

Sanji placed breakfast down in front of Chopper's blue nose. The cook smiled affectionately as the reindeer immediately went to work cleaning his plate. The dining hall was full this morning, voices churning the air with sound. The long table filled with jellies, shakers, butter trays, syrups, and silverware was the only things already set out when the Straw Hats trickled in.

There was only one thing missing.

Sanji forgot Robin's coffee!

Sanji immediately whisked himself away to the kitchen, grinding coffee beans and working hastily to fix the cup for the black-haired archeologist. It was while he was doing this that he realized another thing: There were no yells of "Mine!" coming from his table. This only meant one thing.

Luffy still wasn't up.

As the chef delivered Robin's coffee to her, he asked Nami a quick question, "Is Luffy asleep?"

Nami was biting into some Alubarna toast, "I'm sure he's up by now. I sent Zoro and Franky for him."

It was then Zoro walked calmly inside.

"Captain up?" Usopp asked, popping another piece of apple in his mouth.

Franky rushed in.

Zoro sat down in his seat, radiating a calm composure, "Ask Franky."

The shipwright gulped down a bottle of cola at his seat, "Nope," he gasped.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Did you tell him it was breakfast?"

Zoro glanced at Franky, telling him with an emerald eye that any trouble they'd be getting in was solely on him since he was the last one with the captain. Franky looked apologetic, "He wouldn't give me a chance." Technically not a lie.

Sanji, exasperated, picked up the receiver of a tan, pin-striped den den mushi with a black tie, "Luffy's suite," he spoke.

On the other side of the estate, a red den den mushi with a yellow straw hat began to bur-lep.

The dining hall fell silent as the receiver in Sanji's thin hand crackled.

_Click_

_Click_

The whole room gasped.

Sanji stared wide-eyed at the receiver, "He-"

He answered and hung right up!

* * *

"Leave me alone," Luffy mumbled.

* * *

"This has gone far enough!" Nami yelled slamming her fist on the table.

Sanji, sitting beside her, raised a curly eyebrow, syrup-soaked Alubarna toast half way to his open mouth, "What has?"

"Luffy!" the woman screeched, annoyed, "He's still in bed!"

Usopp adjusted his watch so he could see the face, "It's only been twenty minutes since Franky and Zoro went in."

"Good!" Nami nodded, "That's long enough. Usopp, go get him."

"Are you insane?" Usopp shrieked, "I'm not waking that monster up!"

Sanji snorted, "Oh come on Usopp, you and Luffy are best friends; do you think he'd hit you or something?"

"Yes."

Chopper watched the scene with large eyes, chewing thoughtfully on some perfectly scrambled eggs. He stood up on his phonebooks, "I'll wake him up! I've been meaning to talk to him."

Zoro pulled a face of complete horror, "No way we are sending Chopper in there!"

"Sure we are," Nami chirped, "Go ahead, Chopper."

The small reindeer complied.

* * *

"It's been only fifteen minutes," Luffy thought hazily, as he heard a slight squeak from the vicinity of his bedroom door. His head covered in pillows to block out the sun ("Too tired to close the curtains."), turned in the direction of the sound only to have his pillow yanked off. He blinked blearily.

Chopper smiled, "Luffy, it's almost nine."

"Good," the King grumbled, grabbing his pillow back and replacing it over his face.

Chopper's smile slipped down into a frown, "Luffy, you'll suffocate."

"Then can you close the curtains on your way out?"

The doctor's face slipped into a cute, determined expression, "No! I told Nami I'd get you up."

Luffy pulled his pillow off, "Get out. I don't want hear that name." He let the pillow flop back over his face.

Chopper, scared now, clenched his small hooves, "No Luffy. It's time to get up. Everyone else is."

Luffy didn't say anything. His hand appeared from under the folds of his comforters and pointed to the door.

Chopper trembled slightly, "Luffy-"

"Chopper. Get. Out."

"Don't forget to do your stretches when you get up!" the doctor yelled as he rushed for the door.

* * *

"Told you it wouldn't work, woman."

"Shut up, Zoro!"

Chopper sighed dejectedly, sitting on Zoro's lap. Nami was pacing the length of the dining table. Sanji and the others watched silently.

"He's slept in long enough," the woman growled.

Usopp snorted, "Nami, eleven is sleeping in, _not_ nine."

Nami glared at him, "He'd sleep in 'til eleven at night!"

"I think he deserves it. Captain-san has been putting in a lot of hours lately."

"Robin!" Nami whined, "If we let him do this, he'll get lazy!"

"But, Nami," Kaya said quickly "Luffy-san should sleep. There aren't any _real_ emergencies today." The female doctor glared at Sanji pointedly. The cook waved sheepishly.

"Then we'll make an emergency!"

"Oh boy," Zoro mumbled.

* * *

Luffy opened his eyes slowly. His snoozing den den mushi was the only sound he heard as he carefully sat up, stretching his arms above his head. He made a small noise as he rolled his shoulders and neck. One glance at his time piece said that he'd only slept in for an hour and half from his regular wake up time. Luffy huffed angrily as he pulled his legs underneath himself and stretch backwards until the crown of his head touched his heels. Being made of rubber, Luffy's back didn't give any satisfying pops but it felt good nonetheless.

"What had been with all those disturbances?" he mused.

Luffy rolled out of bed and landed in a crouch on the floor. He bounced a little, stretching his calves before standing up and yanking one leg then the other up to his shoulders. He let out a short breath and turned to his window. Nami had not pulled the thinner white curtains from the larger pane glass windows. He made an annoyed sound and looked away, noticing a shirt and pants draped on the edge of his bed.

A red T-shirt with a black design in the front bottom corner and torn blue jeans.

It may as well have been his birthday. Luffy excitedly scooped up the clothes and padded for his bathroom, ready to finally face the day.

* * *

**FYI to those reading this for the first time: I don't curse. Ever. And I don't like it when I see it when I'm reading. But these guys are pirates so I know better than to think they don't occasionally let a word slip. To ease my mind I describe the fact that they are saying the words instead of putting the actual word out there. I hope you will understand this conviction.**

**I love this chapter! It was the most fun to write to say the least. There are so many tiny details that I love. 1. Alubarna Toast because One Piece doesn't have a France (though I almost typed that while doing this chapter). 2. I know Usopp says 20 min and Luffy says 15 but that just shows you that the Straw Hats don't have their clocks synched right. 3. The dens are so much fun to come up with. I loved the baby den den Sanji gave Nami at Water 7 (can't you tell I loved that arch? Though Thriller Bark is my number 1!) so that's kinda sorta what his big one is like.**

**Uhhh... considering the time skip that I didn't know about when I first wrote this I just want to clarify: I don't really like Franky's big honking body so just pretend that now that it's nine years later and they're all pretty well settled down that he's able to switch between his big body when they're on a voyage and his smaller body when he's at the estate. :)**

**Sanji has such a one track mind. He'd be more worried that Nami didn't have a drink than Luffy drowning in the sea. Maybe. (Funny story: I told a close friend about the time skip and he asked me bluntly, "Does Sanji have any descretion now?" I had to admit that he didn't and he got kinda mad, but then I asked him if he was trapped on a Sodomite island for two years without once seeing a real woman, if he would have any control and a friend of ours who doesn't even know what we were talking about said, "Aw, dude! I'd like worship the first woman I saw." "Exactly.")**

**Zoro could care less what Luffy does with his sleeping patterns cause he sleeps more than anyone. And I'm a little upset he lost an eye. *sniff***

**Chopper's still short! Yay! So he still sits on phonebooks.**

**That's all that I can really think of right now. If you have a question just drop me a review.**

**Thnxs  
Sphnx**


	3. The King's Court

**Whew! I hope you guys aren't getting bored with me! Here we go!**

* * *

**King**  
**The King's Court**

* * *

Luffy stared at his reflection, blurred from the thick fog covering the cold glass. He reached up and lightly rubbed it away until he could see wet, dripping hair and tired eyes. He rubbed at his orbs, feeling discombobulated and just a little lost in his large bathroom. Franky had gone all out with the estate's architecture. Water was still draining from the tub taking up at least half of the room's floor space. Luffy turned around and faced the room, black eyes scanning the eccentric mural on the wall in front of him.

A king and his court.

Luffy scratched at the waistband of his boxers before pushing off the counter. He walked up to the wall, sunshine streaming through the skylights temporarily blinding him. Usopp had painted it; everyone on the high of Luffy becoming the Pirate King. Many aspects of the estate were based on castle parts: tall battlements, cavernous corridors, fireplaces the size of a small boat. The King himself thought it strange that the two avid inventers would decide to place this particular mural in his _bathroom_ of all places. Why not somewhere where it could be appreciated?

Luffy placed his hand on the vague image of the king sitting on his throne, cup bearer offering his royal goblet after he had first tasted it for poison. Luffy tilted his head to better see the resemblance of a certain blonde cook.

The king was laughing, open mouth the only distinguishable feature on his otherwise featureless face. The soundless laughter was directed at the court jester, dressed in flamboyant robes of bright yellow and orange. He was standing, arms flowing in an unmoving dance as his mouth formed wordless tales of such alarming audacity that the king's knight standing in the shadows of the balcony, hidden behind a pillar, was rolling his eyes behind his helm. This particular knight dressed in green-trimmed black armor and in a line of faceless fighters, held the hilt of a white sword strapped at his waist, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The mural seemed to come to life as Luffy passed his fingertips across the cobbled stones and tall pillars. The king's advisors, one dressed in the purple robes; the other, orange of a scholar, were trying without success to persuade the king to take more particular attention in the important matters of his kingdom. But did he care?

Luffy smiled. No, of course not.

The stories were only augmented by the playing of a lute. The notes, though not present to Luffy's ears rang beautifully through the mural, played by an elderly man sitting by a young page. The page, dark-skinned and innocent, held a small sword in his hands, trembling slightly in the presence of his king and his mentor, the knight.

A female physician stood at the foot of the stone steps to the king's throne. She held a small box of medical supplies, having passed the throne room on her way back to her chambers. She too was captivated by the tales of the jester and the musician's music. A large man, the doorward, stood by the king's knight; taking in the atmosphere after long hours of mending and keeping charge of the upkeep of the royal castle.

The whole painting had soft lighting, rich colors in only the appropriate places, and a feel that left Luffy in awe of what it was he held within his hand. Luffy dropped his hand, stepped back and gazed at the mural. Finally he turned and retrieved his clothing. Feeling only a little claustrophobic as he yanked on his shirt followed by his pants, he exited the bathroom, taking in one last glance.

There was always just one thing missing.

A queen.

* * *

**Man this thing is short!**

**A wonderful reviewer mentioned that the tone of this chapter is different from the other two. And they were right. This one's more serious 'cause it deals more with Luffy's crew and not their everyday insanity. This chapter is about his thoughts on his crew because what's a king without his court or a captain without his crew?**

**Maybe some day I'll actually paint this. Next school year perhaps when I have to take Painting. Or maybe my Senior year... hmm...**

**Kudos (Shinichi!) to those who guessed who was who. It wasn't that hard... uh...**

**Sanji is more than just the chef, even though that's reasonable enough. He's also there to help Luffy. So having him make Luffy's food and also check for anything dangerous is what lands him as a cupbearer and not just the cook.**

**The jester and knight are pretty self explainitory. ****Along with the two advisors, identifiable by their respective colors. If you don't know their colors: Hello! Welcome to the One Piece fandom!**

**Brook is an old man because Usopp and Franky didn't want Luffy to know it was them right off the bat. Also it would kinda ruin the painting if there was a skeleton sitting in the corner. *shudder***

**Chopper is a page instead of the doctor cause throughout the series he's always looking up toward Luffy and Zoro (why not Sanji?) because of their strength and determination. I thought it was more appropiate. He's only just a page because the painting is a little dated.**

**Franky in the painting is the doorward. A doorward just took care of the castle and made sure everything was okay and the battlements weren't crumbling to pieces. Self explainitory.**

**When the painting was done, Kaya wasn't originally in it. But Usopp loves her and forced Luffy out of a personal bathroom for week so he could add her.**

**This story isn't aiming for romance. I believe Luffy is quite content with just his crew. And I promise it's really only when Luffy has time to think that he wonders about a relationship closer than nakamaship (in this story anyway). He's twenty-six now and really... guys have needs sometimes. Testerone-pumped super King-Captian is _no_ exception.**

**Well that's about it I believe. Drop a review if you have questions! And thanks for reading my super-long-so-I-can-make-this-chapter-longer spiel. :)**

**Thnxs  
Sphnx**


	4. Wrath of the King

**Whoo! I'ma ona rolla!**

* * *

**King**  
**Wrath of the King**

* * *

How did he get himself into situations like this?

Luffy sighed softly. Surrounding him was the largest crowd he'd seen in a while. Lights hung from strings in between lampposts, and small stalls were parked up and down the streets. People spilled from cafés and shops, carrying their purchases on sagging arms. Noise churned the air giving the whole atmosphere an exciting, buzzing feeling. Luffy though did not notice.

Luffy moved through the crowd, careful not to touch anyone. His deep green yukata with white palm leaf outlines along its length, snagged a few times on his sandals. Curse having to borrow off of Zoro.

Well, it wasn't like this trip was planned. Luffy was just about to exit his bedroom only the day before when Usopp all but pounced on him.

"There's an emergency on Sun Island!"

And so Franky threw a few trunks onto _Sunny Go_ and they headed out to sea once more to the spring island of Sun Island. The small mass of floral ground was popular for parties, hence the reason why it was under the protection of the Pirate King (You can't keep a Straw Hat from a good party).

Luffy spent the day long voyage asking his crew for what reason they were going to one of the most peaceful island in the North Blue. But not one mouth would open to answer. The captain had become disgruntle and no one dared to approach him until they arrived.

Just in time for the Sand Festival.

Sun Island used any and every excuse to throw a party, festival, or shindig. The Sand Festival was one of seventy-six festivals held yearly. This particular gathering celebrated the sands of time, and people flocked to nostalgically observe traditional dances, shows, and items. Robin went every year.

Luffy moved swiftly past a young couple, and almost ran into a middle-aged mother. He apologized and kept moving. He had spotted Zoro's green hair bobbing through the crowd and was trying his best to catch up. The swordsman took a turn at a tempura cart and disappeared among a throng of dancers. Luffy paused, catching his breath.

Was _everyone_ trying to avoid him?

Zoro wasn't the only one to slip past his fingers; Chopper and Nami had also skirted away from him when he approached. Sanji escaped by joining a fellow cook in a friendly competition on the other side of the festival, while Franky and Robin took off toward the temple. Luffy had yet encountered Usopp, Brook, or Kaya and was tempted to give up.

The King watched the dancers blow by him in a flurry of gold and red. They twisted away, arms raised and pumping, hips moving from side to side. Luffy tilted his head back and sighed for the umpteenth time.

"Excuse me?"

Luffy blinked, looked down at a young girl standing beside him and yanking on Zoro's yukata, "Yes?"

"Will you dance with me?" she asked with bright eyes.

Luffy blushed, he hadn't danced since that incident with Jango. The girl, though, looked up expectantly, blue eyes shiny. "Err…okay."

The girl bounced, throwing herself into the crowd of dancers. It was at that moment, Luffy noticed that the girl was one of many young children who were part of the troupe. All seemed to have partners.

Luffy sighed again, tied up his yukata better so he wouldn't trip, and hopped in, stumbling just a bit. The girl appeared beside him, both arms up to her right. Luffy mimicked the action and soon the two were bobbing side to side in hesitant synchronization. They pumped their arms down to their sides before shifting them up to the left. Luffy laughed softly.

The pair kicked their legs to the right, dropping their arms and bouncing on their right foot. They raised their arms again high above their heads and clapped.

The last time Luffy had had this much fun was the ball tournament on Long Island. Banquets, after so many, had become long and tedious though he still enjoyed the food. Now he realized he could relax, forget his responsibilities, and just dance.

But that nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen still bothered the captain as he planted his feet firmly on the cobblestone and thrust his hip to the left. His crew had said that there was an emergency here, but as far as Luffy could tell, everything seemed alright. Luffy pumped his arms, threw his left to the side, and crouched low. Usopp was still a liar but he had said that it was Nami who had—

_Nami_.

Luffy faltered, eyes narrowing. This caught the young girl's eye, "Are you okay?"

Luffy glanced at her as he shifted his weight to the left and kicked at the air, "Aa. It's alright."

If she noticed how dark the man's voice was, the girl didn't say.

The music, already fast-paced as it was loud, began to pick up. Drummers shifted the beat higher, sending the dancers into a more modern dance. Luffy knew this one but had never tried it. He wondered if he should perhaps drop out. The girl yelled over the sound, "I love this one!"

Luffy knew he couldn't.

Recalling as much as he could remember, the rubberman placed himself into the right position behind the small girl. He twisted to the left, bringing his arm up in a wave-like motion as the girl did the same in the opposite direction. The two bought themselves back to face each other. Luffy went to the left as the girl took the right. They clapped, the sound echoed by over a hundred other dancing partners. Luffy threw his left arm up and placed his right hand on the opposite side of his hip. Blushing slightly, the man thrust forward, twisted to the left, linked arms with someone else's partner, and twisted back. The unlikely pair repeated in the opposite direction.

Luffy was beginning to sweat, hemmed in on all sides by a moving, swaying wall of dancers. He threw his arms up, tilting his head back and clapped again. The two moved in a circle around each other. The girl yelled up at him, "You're really good! What's your name?"

"Dee!" he shouted back, "Yours?"

"Mei Mei!"

Luffy smiled, "That's a cool name! I like it!"

The girl gave a cute grin and twirled away to the right. Luffy followed to the left. He turned almost touching noses with a young woman before pulling back and moving his hips side to side behind Mei Mei. Then the dance started from the beginning all over again.

Luffy got better and better as he went, and before he knew it, he had become center stage. The King stepped, thrust, swung, and flowed through a series of dances as the drums beat with him. The dancers and onlookers watched as Luffy kicked at the air, twisted midway and landed on one foot to push himself into a one-handed handstand. He brought his feet over and flipped into a crouch, throwing his upper body forward to touch noses with Mei Mei who was watching with unadultered excitement. She clapped happily as he flipped back unto his forearms. Zoro's yukata slipped down, exposing the cut off jeans Luffy was wearing underneath. The crowd cheered when he pushed up, twisted in the air and landed on his feet just as the drums beat down once more. Luffy fell forward in a low bow, grinning.

The crowd was thoroughly pleased at the display, clapping and whooping. Luffy approached young Mei Mei, and bent down to see eye-to-eye, "You're a wonderful dancer, Mei Mei. Have a beautiful future!"

He gave her a quick hug, laughing when she squealed. Bouncing back, he gave one more bow and quickly exited by hopping onto the stage where the drummers sat and disappearing around the back.

"Who was that?"

One man in the crowd knew.

* * *

Luffy chewed thoughtfully on a candied apple. Even if there was no emergency, Luffy was glad his crew had dragged him here. He hoped Nami had been lying and there really was nothing going on. If she had wanted everyone to come, she should have just asked. Luffy would have said yes.

Something suddenly caught Luffy's arm. He looked to his left at the intruder, prohibiting him from taking another bite of his apple. A man in a fine silk haori of light blue with gold trimming smiled at him.

"You are the Pirate King?" he asked.

Luffy jumped slightly, "What?" Unconsciously, Luffy pulled on the hat he'd bought when he first arrived. He'd almost lost the thing a few times during his dance. The man continued to smile at him. Luffy leaned back, "Who are you?"

"A friend of a friend," the man replied vaguely. He squeezed Luffy's arm. It was probably suppose to hurt, but Luffy only found it creepily uncomfortable. Luffy pulled experimentally. His grip was strong, but Luffy was stronger and could easily free himself. The man stayed put.

"Do you need something?"

"Oh, no, not me."

Luffy blinked, waiting for him to continue. After a minute of strained silence, Luffy yanked his arm away, surprising the man, and fixed his sleeve, "I appreciate it if you didn't touch me. Yes, I am the Pirate King; I protect this island. I am therefore allowed here. There's no reason to be interrogating me." Luffy gave the stranger a steely glare.

The man frowned, "You _are_ the Pirate King?"

Luffy gave him a look that clearly said, "Am I gonna have to spell it out for you?" The King took a bite of his apple and kept moving.

The man sputtered behind, "O-oi!" he shouted, "YOU! PIRATE KING!"

The voices surrounding Luffy suddenly ceased. Luffy paused mid-step, eyes wide as shocked faces turned toward him. Luffy knew then he was in trouble. Most wouldn't mention that another reason Sun Island threw festivals was because they were greedy. And the Pirate King was worth a lot of beli.

_A lot._

Luffy took off in a mad dash, forgetting his apple as it fell to the ground behind him. Oh! He was going to kill that guy!

Wait, screw that.

He was going to kill his crew!

* * *

Nami held a mask in front of her face, "How do I look?" she asked, voice thick with a mocking and unidentifiable accent. Chopper screeched.

"Nami! That's horrible!"

Nami laughed, placed the devil mask back on its rack, "Come on, Chopper. It's not like the devil's really going to come after me!" she laughed.

There was a sudden shout from down the cobbled path. Chopper looked, eyes widening as Luffy dashed toward them with a wild crowd of beefy men behind him. "Uh, Nami, I found the next best thing."

The navigator squeaked. She picked up her skirts and rushed away, Chopper on her heels.

* * *

"You ungrateful—"Colorful words fell from the Pirate King's lips as he pushed and ran his way down one avenue after another. He couldn't believe after everything he'd secretly done for the island, they were attacking him for just a couple bil of lousy beli. The King grinded his teeth and picked up his speed.

Luffy was indignant. He'd been enjoying the alone time, of being reckless and free. He was even thinking of _thanking_ his crew for bringing him. But now? No way in the Grand Line!

"How do I keep getting into these situations?" he shouted.

Luffy stopped, sliding on the cobblestone, before planting himself firmly. "Why!" he pulled his arm back, "Does!" he thrust it forward, arm extending, "This!" it came in contact with the first man in the mob, throwing him backwards, "Happen!" several other men were knocked off their feet by the force of Luffy's punch. A few men scrambled away far enough to avoid the force of wind.

Luffy yanked his arm back, returning with a loud snap. He breathed deeply, chest heaving in anger. His nose flared as he took one rumbling step, then another. His temporary hat was gone, black hair mussed and wild. His eyes burned.

The remaining men put up a brave front. The shoppers were running away, screaming. Luffy progressed slowly forward.

"Luffy!"

The captain paused. Zoro was standing precariously on a stall, arms crossed and looking angrily down at him, "What are you doing?"

Luffy's anger rose.

"You know these people are defenseless. What are you thinking attacking them? Huh?"

Luffy spotted Sanji standing calmly by, smoke curling from his cigarette. His eyes were steely, "Are you stupid?"

The rage bubbled.

Zoro hopped down, and walked toward the rubberman, "Luffy you know better. Even if you think you have a good reason, you can't be beating on people who can't even keep up with you."

Luffy slowly lifted his eyes, making eye contact with the swordsman. His chest filled with air as he took a deep breath, "Where have you been?"

Zoro blinked, "What?"

"Where have you been? It's a simple question," he snapped.

Zoro glared, "Luffy—"

"Stop." Luffy lifted his head and glared back, "I've been trying to talk to you and you guys haven't been listening. Was there an emergency?"

Zoro looked away quickly, feeling guilty for ignoring the man. He came clean, "No."

Luffy smirked darkly, "Is this because I slept in?"

"I knew this wasn't going to end well." Zoro murmured, "It was Nami's idea," he addressed, voice clipped, "She wanted to make sure you knew you had to be ready for anything."

Luffy's hand snapped to his right, pointing to a stall. Zoro looked at him in confusion. "I know you're behind there, come out." He commanded.

Nami and Chopper stepped out hesitantly. Nami flinched when Luffy directed his angry eyes on her, "Then I shouldn't sleep at all, should I?" he asked.

Nami trembled slightly, "What are talking about, idiot. Of course you should sleep—"

"But, Nami!" the man suddenly snapped, "I need to be ready for anything, right? Right!"

"Oi," Sanji muttered. Luffy's head whipped to stare at him. Sanji flinched, "You're right to be angry at us, but don't go overboard."

"Don't you think you went overboard when you dragged me here for no reason? You're stupid decision to 'teach me a lesson' has jeopardized me. Now I can't come back. But did you think of that? No!"

Nami bit her lip, "I'm sorry, Luffy, I should have known better."

"Yes, you should have," the King growled, "Just because I'm older and have this title hasn't changed the way things are. I'll do what I please, it's been working pretty well so far." Luffy heaved a sigh.

"I'm still me. And I'll always be ready for anything."

* * *

Robin adjusted her binoculars. The estate's island was only a few leagues away. She looked down from the crow's nest to the forlorn crew below. The workers at the estate were going to wonder why the others would be doing meaningless tasks for the next couple of weeks.

Robin smiled softly. Sure, Luffy was the same idiot she'd become nakama with but it has been more than a few years since then. Luffy knew better. Nami should have known Luffy wasn't going to sleep in on a _real_ emergency. But that was how Nami worried, the archeologist supposed. They'd all grown up in strange ways. And that included Luffy's means of punishment. Robin was thankful she wasn't one of the few who would be dealing with the King's wrath.

* * *

**Ack! It still doesn't sound right no matter how hard I try to make sense of it (cheesy ending too). If you didn't quite get it, Luffy's reason for being angry at his crew is because they didn't think of asking him directly about their (coughNami'scough) concerns about his "laziness." Instead of thinking he's mature enough to answer a simple question, Nami thought to "teach him a lesson" by forcing an emergency so he would realize the severity of a strict schedule. Or something like that...**

**Just an FYI I can't dance. At all. I can't even do the hookey pookey without messing up (or botching up the spelling). So if it seems the dances are a little strange, that's why. hehe The last dance is kinda a reference to the dancing in Avatar: TLA from season 3. Luffy's using enough of his flexibility and agility from his fighting to accomplish his moves.**

**I've always wanted to make a FMA reference. For your reassurance (because a lovely reviewer voiced their concern), Mei Mei and her parents are heading for the next festival with their troupe. She doesn't have a regular partner like the other dancers do because she usally leads the others in group dances (she's a protege of dance! *dramatic lighting*) so that's why she asked Luffy to be her partner.**

**When on islands he doesn't want to be identified on Luffy wears a different hat and calls himself Dee (Dee was the name I was going to have for him in another fanfic I never got off the ground) when asked to introduce himself. I forgot to mention that before I edited this.**

**This chapter goes to Japan! The first to Italy and the second to France! I don't remember the order I had when I first posted this but the fesitval makes it Japan-esque. :)**

**Thanks again for reviews, favs, alerts, hits (over a thousand!), and whatever else goes with popular stories. At least I believe this story is popular considering how much you guys respond to it. You guys make me soooo happy! *squeal of EXTREME excitement* (Go Ryohei! To the EXTREME!)**

**Thnxs  
Sphnx**


	5. Experience of the King

**Whoo! Am I having fun! And now you guys get to read something you haven't read already. I like this one more than the last Experience chapter. I hope those who have already read this story realize that this isn't from the orginal. And pretty much everything else after this chapter. Well, hope you like! Here we go!**

* * *

**King**  
**Experience of the King**

* * *

Luffy hummed softly under his breath.

The small boy in front of him looked up expectantly.

"Well," the captain began, placing a finger on his lower lip, "I'm no inventor, but I'd say that there might possibly be something wrong with its wheel."

The little boy tried to fight a smile, "The wheel's completely fallen off, Dee-san! Of course there's something wrong with the wheel!"

"Ah! You're right!"

The boy couldn't stop it. A giggle ripped from his lips, tears forgotten. Luffy, or Dee, smirked, "Well there's no reason for crying over it. It's just a wheel. Fran will fix it right up!"

The young boy smiled, handed the toy truck to Luffy's larger hands. The captain gently cradled the toy to his abdomen as he smiled softly at the young child, "Be right back," he promised.

The child nodded and ran off to join his friends, who were gawking openly at the pirate they didn't know was a pirate. Luffy chuckled softly under his breath as he turned and headed back to his hotel.

Upon entering his room, Luffy pulled the paper boy hat off, shaking his black locks out. Throwing the accessory on the bed, he rubbed his hand across his scalp a few times, bringing his hair back to its usual spike-y mess. He sighed tiredly.

Placing the toy gingerly on the desk, Luffy picked up a baby den den, "Franky, please," he muttered. He rearranged a few letters, each a summons to a different island that were lying on his desk as he waited for the snail to pick up the right brain wave. He removed four from the pile with one hand as he opened an accordion file with the other.

_Click_

"_Yo, Captain-bro! What's happening?"_

Luffy smiled as he filed, "Hey Franky, I have a toy here that needs a little TLC. Can you come over and pick it up?"

The snail mimicked Franky as he laughed, _"Sure thing. Be there soon."_

"Thanks."

"_No problem."_

_Click_

Luffy's fingers expertly thumbed through the many slots in his file. Each tab was labeled with the name of a different island. Some were empty but most had at least two letters stuffed inside. Luffy slipped his last letter inside the _Strawberry Patch _slot. Snapping the rubber band securely in place, Luffy then threw the file in the desk, closing it with his hip as he picked up his remaining three letters. He skimmed over them as he wandered to the window.

The curtains were pulled back just enough to let the sun warm the room. Rain Dew Island was having one of its rare sunny days. Luffy wanted nothing more than to throw the windows open but knew he didn't want anyone suspicious of him given an opportunity to peek inside his room. He glanced through the open space instead, out unto the busy boulevard. The children running along the streets thought he and his crew were merchants, coming to their island to stock up on food before sailing to their destination. Some adults knew better, but didn't question them considering they knew what it was they were doing there in the first place. This was their fifth voyage to the spring island after all.

That was one thing Luffy's mind couldn't quite understand. Why would so many people target an island that was undoubtedly protected by the Pirate King? Were they expecting him to ignore the sixth summons? These people needed him, when the dangers rose there was no way he was turning his back on them. Especially now that he'd gotten to become so well acquainted with half the island.

There first voyage was just that: Their first voyage. Rain Dew Island had sent an urgent message to the Pirate King two months after his ascension. They were having trouble with a gang of pirates sailing around their island like a shark around a swimmer in a shiny track suit. Luffy, inexperienced at the time, had looked expectantly at Robin, who had delivered the letter to him.

"What do I do?"

The woman had smiled, "Don't you think we should go help them?"

And so they did. And it wasn't that hard either. Aside from the red pinstriped dress shirt and dusty gray suit he had to wear when they got within twenty leagues of the island. There had been fifteen ships in all. Luffy had been raring to go, bringing a thumb to his mouth when Sanji had roughly grabbed his shoulder and explained to him that now as the Pirate King the sensible thing to do was to negotiate with the lead flag ship. Maybe even come to an understanding as to why they were threatening the island in the first place. Luffy just bristled and complained that that wasn't how he worked.

Nami then slapped him so hard he saw his life flash before his eyes for a split second. Unfortunately for her, it was diagnosed that she wouldn't be writing for the next three weeks.

So giving in Luffy hailed down the flag ship; a monstrosity that dwarfed _Sunny_'s caravel design. But Luffy knew he was the one with the advantage. And the captain of the other ship acknowledged that. When they had sailed close enough, Luffy (along with a reluctant Sanji and Zoro) threw himself up onto the ship's deck. There was a macho stare-down until the other captain's first mate slapped his captain into actually saying something.

For the first time in his life, Luffy negotiated with another pirate (his failed attempt with Zeff didn't count). It started to lean toward an ugly match half-way through when Zoro unknowingly insulted the captain's second mate, only to discover the old woman was his mother. After tempers had simpered down (after Luffy's many assurances that he would set Zoro straight when they got back to their ship which he never did), they returned to polite pleasantries and they struck upon a deal.

Get lost and I won't reduce your fleet to matchsticks for Sanji's cigarettes was the general gist of the end deal. When they returned to _Sunny_, Luffy cheekily snarked to Nami that this negotiation stuff wasn't that bad. Just as long as he still got to make threats that is.

That led to Nami's hand in a cast as Luffy muttered Ace's name on _Sunny_'s manicured lawn.

Luffy laughed at the memory. He'd admit that he'd gotten better, a little more patient with deals and the multiple summons. The second trip to Rain Dew was to kick an unsightly character and his posse off the island, the third to help rebuild the towns after a particularly nasty rainy season, the fourth to kick another pirate crew out (really, the place had no offense or defense for that matter), and their fifth and most recent to extract and defeat an underground slave market. That one was going in the books. What the auctioneer had said to sell Zoro on the bidding block was very inappropriate to put it nicely and the look on his face almost cost Luffy and Sanji their covers.

But that was now over and he could enjoy a few days of relaxation as he waited for the log to set.

"Hey!"

Luffy smiled as he withdrew from the window to greet Franky. The cyborg ducked to slip through the doorway, "So where is it?"

Luffy picked up the broken truck and handed it to the shipwright. He placed a hand on his hip, "It won't take you long, will it?"

Franky was already pulling a small tool bag out of one of the pockets of his cargo pants (he'd been forced into them before he could leave the _Sunny._ Everybody and their third cousin clone twice removed knew about the Pirate King's Speedo-wearing shipwright), "Nah. Just a little…" The older man drifted off as he worked on the toy. Luffy watched silently. Five minutes later the truck was as good as new.

Luffy smirked as he accepted it, "Thank you very much. Celo will be very thankful."

Franky shrugged one shoulder, "Ah, it's nothing. Tell the kid I said hey."

Luffy saw the shipwright out, "I will."

With another tired sigh, Luffy moved to pick up his hat. He didn't know exactly how much time had passed, but he knew he needed to return the boy's toy as soon as he could. Then he was returning for a nap. He was strangely tired. Luffy smoothed his hair back before adjusting the hat so the brim cast enough shadow over his eyes and scar to confuse curious busybodies. He snatched his den den and the toy and headed back out.

It didn't take Luffy long to find the boy and his friends. They were in the back alleys playing a botched game of kickball. They didn't seem to care about actual rules, making it up as they went. Though it was far from fair, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Celo was bench-warming, staring at the bigger kids with large hazel eyes. Luffy nonchalantly approached him. Celo noticed him.

"Dee-san! You're back! Did Fran-san fix my truck?" The boy left his seat to run to the captain.

"Yep! It'll work even better than when you first got it." Luffy grinned. He bent down to Celo's eyelevel and passed the truck to the boy. The seven year old smiled thankfully as he spun the formerly broken wheel. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Luffy's neck and gave a tight squeeze. Luffy returned the gesture with a sure hand on the boy's small back.

"Thanks, Dee-san." He beamed, pulling away.

Luffy began to reply when his senses alerted him to one of the other boys' wayward kicks. Luffy ducked his head in time for the ball to whiz past his neck. Celo stared with wide, horrified eyes.

"What was that?" Luffy laughed as he stood up. The other boys' eyes grew exceptionally large. "Don't tell me that was a kick."

A particularly burly kid glared at the stranger, "What do you know? You're just a stuffy adult!"

Luffy raised an eyebrow, "Huh, really?"

"Yeah," another kid joined in. A few other boys voiced at varying levels of agreement. Luffy placed his hands on his hips and glanced heaven-ward in amusement. He noticed a small girl sitting on the fire escape of one of the apartment complexes. He waved, smiling. The girl blushed a deep red.

"Tell you what?" Luffy grinned, addressing the boys, "Give me one kick and if you can get me out, I'll leave because I'm apparently way too old to be here; but if you can't you guys have to do what I say, because I'll be the oldest kid here."

Many of the boys scoffed, waving him off, sending insults he didn't really notice. Celo pulled on Luffy's pant leg, "What are you doing, Dee-san?"

Luffy chuckled, "What's it look like? Making new friends."

One of the boys went to retrieve the ball as Luffy moved to home plate (a discarded takoyaki box) and began to roll his pant legs up to a more comfortable place for running. The burly boy from before was pitcher. Luffy laughed internally as he watched the boy shake his head at the suggestions the catcher behind the King was making. They were taking this game rather seriously.

Finally the boy must have decided on a suggestion and tossed the ball. It flew faster than Luffy was expecting, but not enough that he couldn't kick it into the next street. But deciding to be nice he bunted the ball.

The red sphere soared through the air over the shocked boys' heads. With a loud thwak!, it hit a building and ricocheted back towards one of the boys. Luffy, who had already begun to run, snatched the boy out of danger. When the ball came in contact with the ground it left a sizable crater before bouncing away towards the street.

"What are you idiots gawking at? Go get it!" the pitcher screeched.

Luffy let the boy he'd saved down half-way to second base. Ten boys were booking it toward the ball that finally seemed to calm down enough to roll into a pothole. The first boy to reach it tossed it to a red head. Luffy guessed as he jogged across second that he was the team's best thrower. The kid on third reached out and scooped the ball out of the air and turned to tag Luffy. The captain grinned as he put a bit more force into his legs, gaining more speed and momentum. The boy stepped off third to tag him and Luffy took his chance. Pushing of his left foot, he flipped over the shell-shocked brown head, landed his right foot on third, and raced down the home stretch to barrel over home plate.

Luffy stopped on a dime and turned to the boys, hands returning to his hips. They stood in dumbstruck silence. Luffy took this time to adjust his hat which had slipped during his flip.

"So…?"

"How in the _world_ did you do that?" Someone suddenly shouted. The dam broke and the boys crowded around the pirate, questions slipping past quivering lips. Luffy held a hand up and the boys fell silent again.

"It's actually really easy—"

_Bur-lep Bur-lep_

_Bur-lep Bur-lep_

Luffy paused, "Opps, sorry guys, I gotta take this." The boys gave a collective "Aw!" before they turned to each to see if maybe they could answer their own question with a pooling of what little knowledge they had.

Luffy was still smiling as he dug his baby den den out of his pocket, "Hello?" He answered.

"_Hello, Pirate King. We have your Princess."_

**Ah! This chapter was fun to write. Except, you know, the last sentance or two. But otherwise lots of fun. :)**

**Luffy may seem a little off considering how mature he seems to be acting, but when you think about it, it's justified! He's had around (too late to do the appropriate math) seven-eight years to do this stuff. He knows to file his letters and set a good example in front of the kids (especially after that one kid punched his dad's in-laws. But that's another story for another time) so his maturity is just showing more than usual. **

**I suddenly seemed to have developed an unusual need to mention Luffy's hips a lot. It was in here like seven times. Hmm... I wonder about myself...**

**Yay! Now you know the Straw Hats first summons. Not as exciting as Luffy had been hoping but good enough to write home about.**

**The 'third cousin clone twice removed' is a reference to Dani from one of my favorite cartoons when I was younger than I am now, Danny Phantom. I hope at least a few people caught that.**

**I remember playing kickball when I was a kid! I got hit in the face a lot, and no matter how much I wanted to, there were never enough people on the team for me to warm the bench with my body heat. I'd pay to see something like what Luffy did though. Although maybe teaching them how he did it wasn't the smartest plan Luffy's ever concocted.**

**While I was typing this I couldn't help but think of the Sandlot movie and for that reason this chapter goes to my beautiful but sadly failing America. May God keep America free long enough for me to die in her/him/it happily.**

**Oo! Cliffhanger! Hope to see you soon!**

**Thnxs!  
Sphnx**


	6. Heart of the King

**;) Hi, how you doin'? *eyebrow lift* Lets get started! Here we go!**

* * *

**King**  
**Heart of the King**

* * *

_~3 Weeks earlier~_

Nefeltari Vivi patted Carue gently on his soft head. The princess sat on the wall of her castle, newspaper in hand. "Wealthy Landowner Kicked off Estate by Pirate King" blazed across the front page. Vivi's lips were curled upward in an amused grin as she read the account of one Francis Honuri. No one quite knew where he was now, but the incident was obvious evidence that the Pirate King's capture was of top priority to the Marines. The straw hat wearing Jolly Roger had been spotted on the coast of Water Seven, but hadn't been seen since. "If anyone has information on the whereabouts or location of the King or his island respectably, they are encouraged to contact the nearest Marine base immediately." Vivi laughed as she read out loud to Carue. The duck made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.

"Well," the princess smiled, folding up the paper, "What do you say to lunch?"

The duck ruffled his feathers and stood up on his short legs. Vivi hopped down from the wall and led her pet back into the palace.

* * *

"You're Majesty, your mail."

Nefeltari Cobra placed his reading glasses on the table. He squinted at the young maid, a look of annoyance flashing across his aging face as he glared at the stack of letters in her hands. He sighed, "My eyes aren't what they use to be, would it be too much trouble if you were to bring Vivi in here to read them for me?"

The girl shook her head, "Not at all, You're Majesty." She placed the letters on his desk and quickly left his study.

The king sighed again. He was getting too old for this job. He just hoped his daughter was wiser than he was when he ascended the throne.

Speaking of the princess, Vivi entered the study, a smile on her young complexion, "Hello, Father."

Her smile was infectious, "You seem lighter than normal."

"Is that a fat joke?" Vivi narrowed her brown orbs.

Cobra snorted, "Your attitude, my dear."

The woman smiled cheekily, "I know. I found out what Luffy-san and the others are doing. That always puts me in a good mood." She pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Ah," the father nodded, "And what has he done this time?"

Vivi's eyebrows pinched, "He's not a criminal, Father."

"He is a pirate—"

"But he saved our island!"

"I'll give him that, but that's as far as my generosity goes."

Vivi shook her head at her father's bullheaded-ness, "He's a good person. And he always will be."

"I'm not so sure of that. The World Government has gotten greedy in its old age. The same could happen to your dear friend." He pointed a wise finger at her.

The woman sighed softly, "You're ruining my good mood, Father."

The older man shrugged. Vivi sighed again.

"Here," Cobra smiled, "This will cheer you right back up!"

Vivi gave her father an exasperated look, "By reading your letters?"

There was a short pause as Cobra stayed frozen with letters in his hands, "Yes!" he suddenly said and placed the stack in front of her.

Vivi smiled slightly, "Okay."

* * *

It was twilight by the time Vivi finished reading her father's letters. The king had fallen asleep in his chair, snot bubble expanding with each breath. Vivi placed the letter she'd been reading to him in her lap and sighed dejectedly. There were so many requests from dignitaries, asking for this or that or the other thing, usually things Alabasta couldn't afford to give up. It put her in a depressed mood to know she'd have to handle these things when it was her turn.

Vivi shook her head violently, "No, I'm not going to think like that." She glanced at the letter again, "Well, at least they haven't requested my hand." The young woman sighed in relief as she returned the paper to her father's desk and stood up.

Then she noticed another letter she had missed.

"Oh no." she mumbled, "I may have spoken too soon." Hesitantly, she picked the letter up and glanced at the envelope's front. The address for their palace was written in loopy handwriting, but there was no return address.

The woman tore it open and glanced in. A few sheets of paper were stuffed inside. She frowned in confusion, as she took out the smallest piece, torn from a small notebook. The handwriting was dark and sharp and read like this:

_Hey Vivi,_

_Nami had the bright idea for each of us to write you a letter. So here's mine. I don't have much to say. Really. So I guess I'll see you next time we swing by your side of the Line._

_Zoro_

_P.S. If I was you (and I'm glad I'm not. No offense), I would skip over the love cook's letter. It's probably a bunch of idiotic dribble._

Vivi almost squealed, "They sent me a letter!" Her smile was so wide her cheeks began to hurt. She carefully returned the small scrape and picked out another letter. Ironically enough, it was Sanji's careful script.

_Dear Vivi,_

_How are you? Nami-swan suggested we send you a letter so I have taken the time from feeding Luffy's giant trap to write you one. I apologize that we haven't come to visit in so long. Things have become drastically busy since Luffy became the Pirate King. I'll have you know I have found All Blue, Nami's map is nearing its completion, and we've visited Elbaf so many times that every giant knows us by first name. Zoro is still a lazy marimo who works out more than he baths, Chopper is still working on his panacea (I believe he will be finished soon though), and Luffy, as always, eats too much._

_I want to inform you that four more people have joined our nakama. I hope you will get to meet them, and (somehow) enjoy two of the four's company. They are a bit more eccentric than you are possibly used to. Also dear _Merry Go_ has passed on from us, and we have acquired a new ship. _Thousand Sunny Go_ is serving us faithfully in his place. You should see my new kitchen: It has a lock on the fridge!_

_Well, I will not detain you from the rest of your letters any longer. I miss you and so does the rest of the crew. I hope we will be in your lovely waters soon._

_Sincerely, Sanji_

_P.S. I would ignore Zoro's letter. For your sanity's sake._

Vivi laughed. That was so typical of the rivals; at least not everything had changed.

Vivi worked Sanji's letter back in the envelope. She turned to leave her father's study, poking through the letters. Finally she picked one at random. It read in dark, capital letters:

_Hello Princess Vivi,_

_You don't know me; I joined the crew after the events at your island. Captain-bro and the others told me about everything that happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there to give someone a good Strong Left!_

_My name is Franky, I'm the shipwright; _Thousand Sunny Go_ is the ship I built for Captain-bro after his last ship died: A horrible case of broken keel. He was too far gone for me to treat. I apologize, I'm sure you loved him just as much as the others do. But I'm also sure you'll like _Sunny_ when you meet her._

_Sis said we were permitted to only one page per person (somethin' about it being too expensive), so I guess I'll have to say goodbye for now. I hope to meet ya Vivi-sis! OW!_

Vivi blinked, "Okay. Can't wait to meet you too." She laughed slightly, "Luffy-san, you pick the strangest people to be your nakama." The woman suddenly pursed her lips, "What does that make of me?"

Well, she was talking to herself for one.

The terrace outside the palace was softly lit by lamps. A chilly breeze blew through, moving Vivi's hair around her face. She replaced Franky's letter back in the envelope and took out another. As she opened it, another page fluttered out. The princess ran to catch it.

The writing was rough and a bit scratchy. She didn't know if perhaps this was another new crew member or…

_Vivi,_

_Ah! I did it! I told you I would! I told you! So that means you'll make an amazing queen for your country. Okay? If I can be Pirate King, you can be Alabasta's bestest Queen._

Vivi laughed and choked in one breath. Luffy's grammar was horrible.

_Things are fantastic here. For the most part. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to take care of sooooo many things, but… Oh well! I'm not going to complain about something I've worked so hard for._

_Uh… there was something I was going to _(There was asplatter of ink). _I hate ink. I don't know why Nami insists we use it. I think a pencil is much nicer. I was going to borrow off of Usopp, but Nami caught me, so I'm stuck with this stuff._

_I just remembered what I was going to tell you! I found three more nakama and re-met an old friend. Robin, Franky, and Brook. Don't get mad at Robin when you meet her. She didn't really want to hurt your country. I'm sure she'll explain all that stuff when you meet her. Or maybe that's what she wrote in her letter. Franky is my ship maker. _Merry_ died after we left you. Franky said that he was pretty beat up from everything we went through. We gave him what Nami called a Viking funeral, which is just a fancy way of saying we set _Merry_ on fire to sink to the bottom of the sea. It's not nearly as heartless as you might think. But Franky built us an awesome mini_ Merry_ to cruise in when we need to get supplies. I'll take you for a ride when we come visit. Brook is our newest member (by, uh, some amount of years). He's our musician, and I can't wait for you to meet him! I hope you know _Bink's Sake_ 'cause we sing it a lot! He's really amazing and can play just about everything. I hope he doesn't scare you when you first meet him. He's a skeleton. Long story. And then there's Kaya. She's Chopper assitant I guess you could say and Usopp's wife. Although they're not officially married yet, but Usopp has a ring so I'm guessing I'll be performing my first wedding within the next couple of months._

_How are things back on your island? Is everything just about normal? I'm real sorry you had to go through what happened, but I'll be honest. I'm glad. Because if you hadn't been in Baroque Works, I would have never met you. And then I wouldn't have you as my nakama. Zoro said there's this thing called destiny and fate. Maybe we would have met anyway. But don't you think we would have been enemies? I'm a pirate, and you're a princess. That doesn't exactly add up to the best friendship. So I'm thankful. Also I probably wouldn't have gotten such a high bounty, and I probably would have had to fight Crocodile some other time, and I probably wouldn't have had his help when I was breaking out of Impel Down._

_Which brings me to my next set of news. You probably already know from the newspapers, and I'm sorry I hadn't informed you sooner, but my brother was executed. He wasn't really my brother by blood, but it was just that kind of relationship. Not just with Ace but with another friend too. But he died. A long time ago. And now Ace is dead, and I seem to be the only one left of the three of us. I almost saved him, Vivi. I was so close, but—_

_If you didn't notice from the picture, when I rang the bell at Marineford, I wasn't trying to get the government mad. I was just telling the crew that we weren't meeting at Seabondy like we'd planned. Instead we trained for two years. And you should see us now!_

_I won't go into details here (I've already exceeded my one page limit), but I'll tell you everything you want to know since you've been gone when we come visit. Which we will. Visit, I mean._

_I guess that's about everything for now. I hope you and your father have been taking good care of yourselves. Please be careful. Be vigilant. You're a little too far for me to rescue immediately if something nasty happens again. Please be safe. 'Kay?_

_See you soon, Luffy_

_P.S. Tell everyone I said hi!_

Vivi smiled, folded up the letter, "It's good to hear from you," she whispered.

Vivi remembered the events at Marineford all too well. She remembered waiting with bated breath for the next newspaper or transponder message, praying that whatever happened, both Luffy and his brother would come out of it alive. Her heart crumbled when Pell told her what had happened. She thought of her small encounter with Luffy's brother. Ace. It was a good name for him, she thought. She hadn't known him well enough to decide his character, but he seemed so good. One of the very few good people in the world. He was much too young.

Vivi sighed shakily. She needed to stop thinking so depressingly. Heaving her shoulders back, she continued toward her room from the porch side. The cold night air nipped at her fingertips and she pulled her shawl closer around herself. When she finally approached her glass doors, she pulled them open with a tired yank. A candle was lit on the nightstand.

Vivi froze. The night felt twenty degrees colder. Collecting herself she stepped inside.

A hand reached out from the shadows and clamped over her mouth with a monstrous grip. She screamed, but the sound was muffled. A face materialized from the dark. Steel grey eyes glared at her, sharp angles of his face cutting the shadows for a demonic feel. Vivi screamed again. Reflexively, she struck her elbow out toward where she was sure his gut was. The man gave a grunt, eyes rolling back slightly. He steeled himself and roughly grabbed her arm. Vivi aimed lower with her foot, but missed. She nailed him in the knee cap.

The man couldn't stifle a cry. Shock and pain made him let go. Vivi stole her chance and ran for her nightstand. In her haste to open the drawer she knocked the candle over. The light snuffed out.

Vivi paused, heart hammering in her ears. For a few seconds, darkness dominated her senses. Her fingers quietly moved around in the drawer, but they came up empty. _No!_ she thought.

There was a whirring noise, "Looking for this?"

Vivi turned. Eyes adjusted and moonlight filtering into the room, Vivi could make out the tall figure of a second man. The first was on the floor, crouched over his injured knee. Vivi's steel peacock feather caught the moonlight. The second man twirled it effortlessly.

Vivi swallowed hard.

The next morning, just as a familiar ship was sailing toward a Sand Festival, a maid went to her princess's room; only to find two steel peacock feathers and a letter with the words 'please be careful' written in bold ink.

* * *

**Oh my...**

**No one aside from the crew and trusted servants know where Luffy's island is located. And the Grand Line is just too large for the Marines to sail to every single island. So they depend on Crimestoppers.**

**"Is that a fat joke?" is something my friends at college and I do. If someone is making fun of someone's height we will still ask if they're making a fat joke. My friends at home are truely something because even they cracked that line without me having to tell them that story. It was like I never even left when I came back. X)**

**Cobra isn't being ungrateful when he says he doesn't trust Luffy as far as he could throw him. But that island has had plenty of bad experiences with pirates so I understand if he was a bit unsure of the twenty-six year old.**

**The letters! Oh, they were fun to do. And how they write was fun to come up with too. I imagined Franky writing like my dad, must be a big guy thing. Luffy's letter is the basis for the title. Not that he left his heart in Alabasta when he left. So please don't get mad at me! I admit I am a LuVi fan, but I'm trying to keep this story away from romance. Except the UsoKaya pairing. I'm not backing down on that one.**

**Which brings me to inform you all that I don't like that thing (sorry I can't even think it, let alone type it) married couples do before they have actually tied the knot. I don't mind writing...uh...kissing scenes because these guys aren't me or real for that matter, but I draw the line past making out. So in this story even though Luffy says they're married but not in name, Usopp and Kaya haven't done_ anything_. Please understand and accept this conviction.**

**I think after months of being on a dangerous pirate ship that Vivi decided to add strength and fighting training to her list of princess lessons, so she's very adept with her steel peacock feathers. When she has them on her.**

**I was thinking about Austria when I typed this but I don't really know why... and Vietnam. But I guess I really don't have a country to give this chapter to.**

**The plot thickens like a wheat thick! Thnxs for reading!  
Sphnx**


End file.
